Microbiological survey of the aerial contamination in urban areas of the city of Murcia, Spain

Authors

  • Teresa Soto
  • Jerónima Vicente Soler
  • José Cansado
  • Mariano Gacto
Keywords: contaminación aérea, contaminación microbiana, transporte aéreo de microorganismos

Abstract

Ten different urban areas of the city of Murcia were periodically sampled for aerial microbial content during one year period. Overall viable counting after air collection by an impaction method showed levels of microbial contamination of about two orders of magnitude per m3, which are either within or below the range reported for other population centers. However, it can be deduced from our results that about 5 x103 viable microorganisms may be daily inhaled outdoor by Murcia citizens. The concentration of aerial fungal isolates surpassed that of bacterial contaminants. Several potentially pathogen bacteria were detected, among which Staphylococcus was the predominant genus. Also, Legionella was occasionally found in two environmental areas. Species pertaining to Cladosporium were among the most frequent isolated fungi. The seasonal distributions of bacteria and fungi followed a different temporal trend. The results of the present work are the first data available on the concentration and composition of the airborne microflore of this city.

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Author Biographies

Teresa Soto

Departamento de Genética y MicrobiologíaFacultad de BiologíaUniversidad de Murcia

Jerónima Vicente Soler

Departamento de Genética y MicrobiologíaFacultad de BiologíaUniversidad de Murcia

José Cansado

Departamento de Genética y MicrobiologíaFacultad de BiologíaUniversidad de Murcia

Mariano Gacto

Departamento de Genética y MicrobiologíaFacultad de BiologíaUniversidad de Murcia
How to Cite
Soto, T., Vicente Soler, J., Cansado, J., & Gacto, M. (2009). Microbiological survey of the aerial contamination in urban areas of the city of Murcia, Spain. Anales de Biología, (31), 1–6. Retrieved from https://revistas.um.es/analesbio/article/view/110511
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